Savannah
One hour ago
“Mmm, so good.” I take a bite of my Phish Food ice cream as my favorite episode of One Tree Hill plays. It’s the one where Nathan admits to Haley that even though he hated her leaving him to go on tour, he kept every article and photograph of her. They’re standing in the rain, yelling at each other, and then he kisses her with such passion, goose bumps prick my skin and tears fill my eyes, making it hard to see the screen.
I let out a choked sob as I scoop another bite of caramel-chocolate-marshmallow goodness into my mouth. “I want a love like that,” I say out loud, shoveling more ice cream into my mouth. When I dip my spoon in, and nothing comes out, I glance down and see the container is empty. “Figures.” I drop my spoon into the container. “Looks like my fiancé isn’t the only Ben fucking with my heart.”
“Are you talking to your ice cream?” Brianne asks with a laugh. She must’ve just gotten home from Marcus’s place. I told her she doesn’t have to babysit me, but she’s insisted on sleeping here for the past two nights.
“Yeah.” I shrug, owning my craziness. “I was just pointing out that I’ve been heartbroken by two Bens in the past two days.”
She quirks a brow. “Well, there’s more of that Ben in the freezer.”
My mood perks up. “You bought me more?”
“I did, but you can only have it when you talk to the other Ben.”
My mood plummets.
“I think I’m done with both of these Bens.” I drop the container onto the nightstand with a huff.
Brianne rolls her eyes. “You are not. You’re just emotional and hurt, and cranky because you’re refusing to take a pregnancy test and find out if Ben was right and knew you were pregnant before you did.”
“Whatever,” I grumble as my phone rings. I grab it, ready to hit ignore, thinking it’s Ben again. But when Brody’s name shows up, I pause my show and answer it. No matter how mad and hurt I am at Ben, I’ll always be there for Brody.
“Hey.”
“Savy, I, umm, I need you.” Brody’s voice is nothing more than a whisper. Something is wrong.
“I’m here. Where are you?”
“I’m outside the building.”
I don’t understand why he’s out there instead of at his dad’s place, but it doesn’t matter. “I’m at my place. Do you want me to come down, or do you want to come up?”
He’s silent for a few beats before he says, “I’ll come up…Wait, are you alone?”
I glance at Brianne. I should tell him she’s here, but something tells me he might not come up if I do.
“Yeah, I’m alone. I’ll come unlock the door.”
“Okay.”
He hangs up, and Brianne quirks a brow. “It’s Brody. Something is wrong, and he needs to talk to me. Can you, umm, hide in your room?”
“I’ll do you one better and go back to Marcus’s, but if you need me…”
“I know. Thanks.”
I hug her, then throw on a bra and leggings before walking her out so I can meet Brody at the door.
“I saw Bri at the elevator,” he says, walking in.
“She’s going to Marcus’s. She was on her way out when you called.”
He nods, and his gaze connects with mine, and it’s then I notice he has a swollen eye like he’s been punched.
“What happened?”
I step toward him to check it out, and he takes a step back, shaking his head. “I… I didn’t know who else to go to.” His hazel eyes, identical to his father’s, meet mine. “I know I have my dad, but…”
“Hey, I’m here. Come sit down.”
He follows me over to the couch, and we have a seat. I give him a few moments to gather his thoughts before I ask him to talk to me.
“I like girls,” he starts, confusing me because I know he does—hence him dating Sariah—and I’m not sure where he’s going. “But I also think I might like guys.”
I nod but remain quiet since I’m sure there’s more to come, and I want to let him get it all out.
“Shit, this is so embarrassing,” he mutters, scrubbing his hands over his face.
“No, it’s not. Whatever you have to tell me, I’m not judging.”
He releases a harsh sigh. “One night I was in my room watching…porn.” His cheeks tinge pink, and I have to swallow down my smile because it’s so normal, but I can imagine how embarrassing it is for a teenager to admit. “I clicked on a video, and it was of a girl and some guys. The guys, they were…” He meets my eyes, no doubt praying I understand so he doesn’t have to explain.
I nod my understanding, and he continues. “I was curious, so I found some with more guys. I was watching it when Ted barged into my room drunk. My mom was asleep. He liked to watch sports and drink after she went to bed. A lot of the time, he would pass out on the couch.”
A lump, the size of a bitter lemon, fills my throat as I pray to every God what he’s about to say isn’t what I think.
“He, umm, he called me a queer and shit, and I told him to get the hell out. Every time he would get drunk, he would talk shit, but I ignored him. I didn’t tell my mom because I didn’t want her to think I was gay. I don’t really know…”
“I get it,” I tell him. “But there’s nothing wrong with it if you are.”
“Yeah,” he breathes. “His taunting kept getting worse…and then one night, he told me if I want to find out if I liked guys, he could show me…” He clears his throat and looks down, refusing to meet my eyes as he says the next part. “He started unbuttoning his pants, telling me he could fuck me, and I would know if I was gay.”
Needing to remain strong for Brody because he’s trusting me with this, I swallow down the bile of anger burning my throat, patiently waiting for him to continue.
He glances up and looks at me, his eyes sad. “My mom used to say she was lonely, that my dad left her and she had to raise me alone. I didn’t want to ruin her happiness.”
Oh no. His getting into fights was his cry for help. He just didn’t know how to handle it. It’s why he never goes with his mom since he moved in with his dad.
“I don’t know your mom, but I can tell you that there’s no way she wouldn’t want to know what Ted was doing. I saw her at dinner that day, and she loves you. What he did is wrong…so damn wrong.”
“They broke up. My mom said he cheated. She didn’t tell me that, but I overheard her crying to her friend on the phone.”
I feel like what he’s telling me is a lead-up to more, so I simply nod and wait.
“She said he moved out, so I went with her for the weekend. I was pissed at Dad for upsetting you and making you leave.”
“He didn’t make me leave.”
“Whatever. He still upset you. I told him to fix it.”
Oh, my heart.
“I guess Ted wasn’t supposed to come back to get his stuff until later,” Brody says, changing gears, “but he showed up tonight while my mom was asleep. He saw my light on because I was playing my PlayStation and came in. He started calling me names and shit, and then he tried to kiss me. I pushed him away and tried to leave, but before I could, he punched me in my face. I hit him back, and he hit his head on the edge of my bed. When I left, he was knocked out cold.”